I’m changing this up a bit here and moving ERW posts to MONDAYS. Â Why? Â Because it’s my blog, and also because I want to move to a 5-post-a-day schedule AND add two travel posts a week! Â (Love it? Hate it? Leave me a comment and let me know). Â With the new schedule comes a new kind of post – Liz from What Dress Code? brings the bus & train perspective to our airplane-heavy series. Â Some great insights here, folks. Â Take it away, Liz!
Liz McAvoy
Editor, LivingSocial | Blogger, What Dress Code
I definitely tend to be an overpacker. My family was always bigger on road trip vacations than flying-based ones, so I guess I just never learned to really pare down what I needed to bring. That all changed though, when I studied abroad in Barcelona. I had never been to Europe before and ended up traveling around to tons of the big-time cities — Rome, Paris, London, Amsterdam, etc. — and always only for a weekend. Since checking bags on the tiny cheapo planes we booked for our trips was practically as expensive as the flight itself, we learned very fast not to overpack!
These days, I don’t actually fly much, but I do spend a whole lot of time on Megabus and Amtrak trains. For the past two years or so, I’ve been living in DC while my boyfriend has been living in Richmond (he’s in dental school down there and I’m employed in the District so we’ve come to something of a temporary impasse). What with our situation, I find myself heading for the train right after work nearly every other Friday, so I usually end up packing Thursday evening. I’m terrible at packing in advance. There’s just something mental where I always feel like I’ll forget something if I pack in advance, so you’ll find me at around 11 p.m. that Thursday finishing up laundry, trying to remember where I put my camera charger, and looking for the shirt I forgot I took to the cleaners.
Once I kind of get a handle on things, though, I actually can do a pretty good job keeping things light. I’m definitely a roller these days — it really does make a difference in the amount of room! I always make sure to prioritize some comfy clothes, because I usually take a Megabus back up to DC (train down = faster, more reliable, more expensive; bus back = cheaper, relatively reliable, less traffic on Sundays). I’m usually able to fit everything into one bag (we’re talking a Friday night through Sunday afternoon trip here, people), but if I have a specific event we’re going to or I need to bring my laptop to do some work, sometimes I wind up failing at the one-bag thing. If I manage to keep it all in one bag, that’s usually my trusty Vera Bradley duffel — I’ve had it for years and years now, it’s actually starting to get kind of sad and in need of replacing! Either that, or if it’s an especially light weekend and I’m packing warm-weather stuff, I can fit everything in the trusty dorky backpack I was given by my day job when I hit my one-year anniversary (tech startups like the swag, what can I say).
Since I’m usually coming to the train station straight after work, I often don’t have too much time to get off the Metro and at the right gate, etc., but if I have time I always go to the Starbucks in the station and grab an iced coffee (just black, please) — I don’t really know why, because I’m usually heading there at night, but I always go for that little caffeine pick-me-up before I hit the road. As for once I’m settled at the gate, I usually try to remember whichever book I’m reading at the moment or whichever magazine most recently arrived at my doorstep (this usually ends up being either National Geographic or Martha Stewart Living — I’m such a magazine nerd!). I’m not too concerned about being at the front of the line or anything when people go to line up and check tickets; I’m the same way with flights, come on people, everyone will get a seat, it’s a few hours of your life, CALM. DOWN.
So even though I don’t like to rush to get in line or anything, I really like having my own seat once on the train and definitely get cranky when I have to share — I prefer the window seat, pleas. I usually get my bags settled, crank some music on my iPhone, and read for a little while longer while I finish my coffee. If it’s still light out, I can catch some really beautiful sunset views on the ride down. By about a third of the way in though, it’s usually off to a quick catnap… since I don’t usually bring my laptop with me for the weekend, I don’t have anything to watch and I get a little bored. If I haven’t had dinner yet, I’ll head to the dining car and grab some peanut M&M’s or pretzels. When it comes to the bus ride back, I’m even more of a hermit. I do everything in my power to secure my own row, and then I bundle up into a ball with my knees up and sleep most of the way.
In addition to my aforementioned coffee (though I always forget gum to kill the terrible aftermath breath), I throw in magazines or a book if I remember, and always make sure to bring headphones. I also always get cold on trains, so I try to dress slightly more warmly than I normally might for the outdoor temps or I bring a scarf to cozy up with. I also usually pack my makeup bag so it’s easily accessible, because I like to go do a little freshen-up before I get off the train — after a whole day at work and all the travel and sleep-drool/pillow face, I can use it! So an extra brush of mascara and sweep of blush make me feel a little more put together by the end of the trip. Sometimes I’ll even change on the train if I’m headed somewhere right from the station with the boyfriend (when I roll in at around 9 p.m., we usually have somewhere we’re headed — at least for me to grab a late dinner!). Other than that, I don’t bring much — it’s all about fitting everything in one bag right?!
– Washingtonian – National Geographic – Vera Bradley tote – M&Ms –
– Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Starbucks iced coffee – headphones – scarf –
